Just the other day, I found myself behind my steering wheel in the midst of a breakdown begging God to do something. It had been a long day and almost everything went completely opposite from how I wanted it to go. I kept saying, "God, please just make my day go better. I don't think I can handle much more." And of course, God has a sense of humor; if you don't believe me, you should have seen how my day was going. The last straw of my breakdown was when my car decided that it wanted to ramp a parking curb. That's what I meant by God's sense of humor.
While I was begging God to help make my day better, I remember thinking to myself, "Why should He do anything for me on command? He doesn't owe me anything." And He doesn't. So often I find myself asking God for things. "Make my day better; please let me get an "A" on this final; please let my relationship get better... etc." But so little do I find myself just having a conversation with Him. I never just sit there and talk to Him or even just thank him for sacrificing everything for me to have the life I'm living.
He isn't a genie, and he won't grant you three wishes. I've learned that God is there to guide us, to give us a hand when we are weak, to protect us, and to give us life. Nothing ever says that God will give you what you want. Chances are, what you want isn't what He wants for you. He's good about saying "no" or "just wait." And the thing is, we have to do what He says. We don't create our own future; He has already created it for us. If we just live through Him, He will lead us to where we need to be.
John 13:7 "Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'"
It's so hard for us to understand why things happen the way they do or the meaning behind things that happen, but we aren't meant to understand it. We are meant to put our entire faith in God and follow Him. He doesn't want us to understand at the time what He is doing, but there is a reason behind everything we go through. I used to believe that things always just happened by chance or coincidence, but soon realized it was all a part of something greater.
When was the last time you actually thanked God for something instead of asking Him for something? Or when was the last time you actually had a conversation with Him and just confided in Him? He wants us to know Him. He wants us to be close with Him, but we have to stop thinking we are owed. We have to stop using our "faith" as a way to try and get things out of life. I admit, I've asked God for so many things and so many answers, and when He didn't answer I was quick to think He wasn't listening to me. He tests our faith. He hears everything we ask Him, but sometimes silence is His answer. We don't have to know everything He is planning. His plan is bigger than ours, but next time you find yourself begging God to give you something or asking Him to fix something, remember He doesn't owe us anything. We owe him our life, for He is the one that gave it to us.
